Five O'Clock Club, Pewaukee, WI

So, in case you're annoyed with me, or possibly sick of me entirely, you might want to stop reading this blog, because I'm still on my "anti-tartar" campaign. I feel like I'm lobbying for restaurants to step up the game a little bit and season the batter.

This week is no different as our group headed to the Five O'Clock Club in Pewaukee.  I will say, I was pretty excited for this trip as I've been to the 5-O before, and my entrees each and every time were extremely delicious.  However, until last Friday, I had yet to order their famous fish fry, and I don't think I'll order it again.

As we drove into the parking lot around 8pm on Friday, the place was packed.  Packed as in, people were creating their own parking spaces packed (I was not one of them, I got lucky) -- even later in the evening our wait was over 45 minutes, but it was to be expected for one of the best fish frys around (according to many, many people I've talked to over the last two years).  We found a cozy spot in the corner of the bar area and our conversation led to a quick passing of the quarter of an hour.

We were seated, and withing minutes the overrun waitress greeted us with our own portion of coleslaw, tartar sauce (of course) for the table and rye bread.  She set that in front of our faces even prior to us ordering our entrees, but none of us complained, it was late and we were hungry.

I decided on the small fried cod with french fries, $8.50, while my counterparts the table ordered the perch/cod combo, $14.95 (also with fries).  The 5-O does not have any other potato option besides fries, unless you want to pay extra, and that was a huge disappointment, as I'm a big fan of the potato pancake.  We overlooked the starchy glitch and continued to dig into what I considered some of the best cole slaw in Lake Country, it was oil-based, but not too greasy and seasoned to absolute perfection,  an even better follow-up was the homemade seafood chowder, again this was a great homemade soup with big chunks of seafood and potatoes and just the right mixture of veggies in a creamy broth.  I figured this was just like the composition of a symphony, light bright beginning, a lingering, yet pleasant middle and then the climactic ending. 

We missed out on the climactic ending.

The fish was cooked perfectly, the breading was gorgeous in color and flawless in it's crumb texture, but one very big thing was missing, the flavor.  Up to this point we were treated with a great introduction of appetizing components leading up to our very mediocre main entree.  It's that simple, I was again disappointed in the seasoning.

And for all your tartar lovers out there, my experts said it was too sweet.

So, there you have it. I'm sorry if you feel as though you're reading the same blog over and over the last month or so, but honestly that's what I've been eating over and over the last month -- it's the fish fry equivalent to Ground Hog's Day. 

I will rate the Five O'Clock Club a 7 out of 10.  It is strictly because the soup and coleslaw were excellent, but those things should never outshine the main character. 

Here's to another week in the books.  Next week I hope to fix my bland problem...cross your fingers.  And hug the ones you love too!